Chapter 283 Another "Western Front"
Tijani could hardly believe that what Charles said was true. He thought Charles was joking, but Charles was serious.
Landing operations require Marines.
But the concept of "Marines" did not exist during this period, and this was not the case even for the British Navy, which had been using warships to seize colonies around the world.
The British Navy has the "Royal Naval Division", and the 29th Division fighting in the Dardanelles at this time is one of them.
But the "Royal Naval Division" is not an independent military branch, nor is it an independent branch of the military. It is an army attached to the navy. The navy uses naval guns to beat the enemy into submission, and the "Royal Naval Division" then rows its boats ashore to occupy the target.
They "went ashore" rather than "landed".
The British believed that as long as the enemy was still armed on the coastline, they could be defeated with naval guns.
This was indeed the case when facing the natives armed with homemade guns, cannons, or wooden sticks and bows and arrows. The sound of the naval cannons frightened them, and the "Royal Naval Division" could row their wooden boats ashore without any resistance.
But facing a country with guns and cannons, especially one with the support of Germany, the result is another matter.
Tijani came from the navy, studied and trained at the Army Academy, and even participated in actual combat, so it was perfect for him to form the Marine Corps.
But Tijani became nervous: "Colonel, although I am willing, I am worried..."
"Are you worried that you won't be able to do the job?" asked Charles.
"Yes." Tijani nodded, with hesitation on his face: "I was trained in land warfare, and my only actual combat experience was the Battle of Cape Town."
Tijani was somewhat embarrassed; this only actual combat experience turned out to be a disgraceful affair.
Then, Tijani raised his own question: "If I were asked to be a group leader, I wouldn't even know where to start. I have no idea..."
"It's very simple." Charles replied, "You just need to think about one question. Teaching the troops to use the ships you produce is like making an instruction manual, telling them what to pay attention to, when to use them, and so on."
Tijani half opened his mouth: "That's it?"
"That's it." Ciel nodded, "Next is the land battle you learned."
Seeing that Tijani still had doubts, Charles added: "I heard that you look at war equipment in a different way, like a work of art?"
“Yes,” Tijani responded. “Many people don’t believe it, but I do.”
Then Tijani hurriedly explained: "But this will not affect my command, I promise! I can separate it from the war, I know these are two different things, I should distinguish between public and private affairs..."
"No, General." Charles interrupted Tijani: "I don't want you to 'separate public and private'."
Tijani looked at Charles with a puzzled look on his face, and he thought Charles was joking.
Charles explained: "War itself is an art. If you can really look at equipment and war in this way, you will be an excellent commander, General!"
Tijani was stunned.
Charles's point of view was novel; no one had ever said that before.
In military academies, we always talk about the cruelty of war and the unwavering execution of orders and achievement of goals, which is different from the free expression of art.
But Tijani felt that Charles was right. If one thinks about war from another perspective, from the perspective of appreciating art, one will not be restricted by rules and regulations. At least one will not be entangled in which of the "offensive theory" and the "defense theory" is correct.
Then Tijani figured it out.
This is how Charles conducts. His conducting is an art, an art that is not restricted by any theory.
Maybe this is how war should be, it should be responded to according to the specific situation rather than what is said in the textbook. If it is mentioned in the textbook, then the enemy can guess it, and it is not a war!
Tijani suddenly gained confidence. He stepped forward and said, "I understand, Colonel. So, the troops under my command..."
Charles turned his eyes towards Gallieni.
Gallieni said "hmm", opened the drawer, took out a prepared document and handed it to Tijani: "I transferred the 105th Regiment from the 6th Group. This is a unit that fought in the Battle of the Marne and has rich combat experience."
In the past few days, Gallieni reorganized the army, transferred away troops with poor combat effectiveness and poor performance, and more importantly, conducted a screening and transferred some officers who did not support Charles from their posts.
Gallieni considered the latter more important, although there were not many of them.
This is not just a problem of command difficulty. These officers may also be bribed by capitalists to target Charles.
Tijani took the document and flipped through it, looking at Gallieni impatiently: "General, when can I see my troops?"
"Anytime," Gallieni replied, "They are already resting at the Paris Police Training Base!"
"Great!" Tijani raised the information and was as excited as a child: "I, I'll go right away."
As soon as Tijani left, Lieutenant Colonel Fernan hurried forward and handed over a telegram: "General, another battleship was sunk, it's the Triumph!"
Gallieni was stunned.
The last time the battleship was sunk was at night, which could be attributed to a sneak attack by the Ottoman Empire's "torpedo boats", but this time it was during the day.
After taking the telegram and reading it, Gallieni's expression gradually became solemn. He handed the telegram to Charles: "It is confirmed that it is a submarine. A German submarine rushed to the Dardanelles and sank the Triumph with a torpedo."
The telegram was very detailed.
Because the Goliath had been sunk before, British battleships were very cautious when carrying out bombing missions even during the day.
At that time, the "Triumph" was in a state of strict alert: it was covered by two destroyers, anti-torpedo nets were set up around the hull, and the watertight compartments were completely closed.
But the German torpedoes were equipped with net breakers, which easily cut through the anti-torpedo nets and then hit the Triumph.
The Triumph discovered the submarine and opened fire in panic but missed the submarine. Instead, it hit a British supply ship and caused a fire.
Soon, Gallieni received another telegram.
Gallieni looked helpless. "They have withdrawn all the battleships to the anchorage, which means that the support from the other side of the shore may be weakened. Are you still confident about the landing?"
Charles replied: "That depends on the purpose of the landing operation."
"What do you mean?" Gallieni looked at Charles in confusion.
Wasn't the purpose of the landing operation to defeat the Ottoman Empire or force it to surrender?
Going further, it means opening up a new battlefield behind the Western Front to break the stalemate.
Charles replied calmly: "If we land in the Dardanelles without warning and catch the enemy off guard, it might be possible to break the stalemate. But now it has been more than a month..."
Gallieni nodded thoughtfully: "The Ottomans are already prepared. They just need to dig trenches, and there will be another western front!"
Therefore, the strategic goal of "breaking the deadlock" is doomed to be impossible to achieve.
If this could be achieved, why would it be necessary to transport troops, supplies, and ammunition to fight in the Ottoman Empire, as long as they were better supplied from the Western Front?
(End of this chapter)
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